Daily Thought: What Does It Mean to be Human?

"Without an understanding of our nature and purpose, we cannot have a proper understanding of redemption.  You may wonder, what does all this really have to do with our salvation.  Do we really need to know so much about our own nature before we can understand how that nature can change through salvation.  Yes, we do.  What 'salvation' is depends upon what is being saved.  Before something can be saved it must face the risk of being lost. And, essentially, it is the nature of what is being saved that determines how it can be at risk and at loss.  For example, 'saving' and investment is a different kind of project from saving a life, a reputation, or an injured pet, because investments, lives, reputations, and pets are different kinds of things.  So, if we want to know what it is to save a human being, to redeem the human soul or personality, we cannot find a better way to begin than by asking: what did God make when he made us, and how could creatures such as we be at risk and at loss?" ~ Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines, p. 45